Representing the 7th District

Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson’s (D-Sacramento) Assembly Bill 526 was approved by the State Senate on a unanimous bipartisan vote. The bill would improve the effectiveness and efficiency in the granting of state and federal funds for delinquency and gang intervention and prevention programs. The bill now goes back to Assembly for a concurrence vote before going to the Governor for his signature.

“The goal of AB 526 is to bring greater coherence to the state’s delinquency prevention and youth development policies and programs,” said Assemblymember Dickinson. “This bill will ensure that the state is using our available funds for these programs more efficiently and effectively.”

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Bill Inspired by US Attorney’s Investigation of Sacramento-area Peace Officers

Sacramento – On June 1, the US Attorney’s office revealed the indictment of two Sacramento County sheriff's deputies accused of operating an illegal gun trade in the Sacramento area and illegally selling dozens of weapons – some to criminals (more info).

“Unfortunately, there continue to be opportunities for the sale of illegal handguns around our state and that is why I authored AB 2460,” said Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento).

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Sacramento - Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was appointed today to serve as Chair of the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance. The new chairmanship will take effect on August 10. The Committee hears bills related to financial institutions, real property finance, consumer finance, and corporate securities law.

“I am honored to serve as Chair of the Banking and Finance Committee and work on important issues that affect the economic future of the state and all Californians. In my career, I have been a strong advocate for consumers and as Chair, I will strive to protect their personal financial interests,” said Assemblymember Dickinson.

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Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) released the following statement on the passage of the California High Speed Rail funding legislation:

"This measure represents a reasonable compromise by initiating construction on the backbone of a statewide High Speed Rail system in the Central Valley, and also upgrading our successful rail systems in and around the state's population centers that are necessary to connect those centers to the main line. Recognizing the importance of connecting and improving our existing corridor rail services in the north and south is key to insuring the success of our High Speed Rail system.

Three of California's intercity rail services are among the six most successful rail systems in the nation and California has more than 20 percent of all Amtrak riders. Given the success of our intercity rail services it undeniably underscores how Californians increasingly embrace rail passenger service. I think all regions of this state will benefit from this legislation and the High Speed Rail system will be an integral part of California's transportation future."

Bill Inspired by US Attorney’s Investigation of Sacramento-area Peace Officers

Sacramento – On June 1, the US Attorney’s office revealed the indictment of two  Sacramento County sheriff's deputies accused of operating an illegal gun trade in the Sacramento area and illegally selling dozens of weapons – some to criminals (more info).

“Unfortunately, there continue to be opportunities for the sale of illegal handguns around our state and that is why I authored AB 2460,” said Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento).

Assembly Bill 2460 would close the loophole in law that currently allows the private party transfer of “unsafe handguns” to individuals not eligible to buy them. The bill was approved today by the Senate Public Safety Committee on a vote of 4-1. The bill will next be heard in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“AB 2460 will keep ‘unsafe handguns’ out of the hands of people who don't have a legitimate law enforcement purpose,” said Dickinson. “This bill will improve public safety by closing the gap in current law that has allowed the unrestricted practice of selling unsafe handguns through private party transfers to continue without recourse.”

Since 2001, it has been against California law to sell or purchase unsafe handguns unless one is employed by the Department of Justice, a police department, a sheriff’s official, U.S. Marshal’s office, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the California Highway Patrol, any District Attorney’s office, or the military or naval forces of California or the U.S. for use during official duties. These officials have access to such guns under the presumption that law enforcement is expertly trained to handle guns safely and in the case of assault weapons, are necessary for law enforcement to avoid being "outgunned" by criminals.

There is currently a loophole in the law which allows exempt law enforcement officers (listed above) to sell their legally obtained “unsafe handguns” to people who otherwise do not qualify to purchase them through a private party transfer. The officer is required to go through a gun dealer to sell the weapon, but the gun dealer is not required to check to see if the weapon is unsafe, only if the person purchasing is eligible to buy legal guns in California.

Unsafe handguns are guns that are on the “unsafe handgun roster,” the list of currently unlawful guns that cannot be sold to non-law enforcement officers. Examples of the guns on the roster are handguns that fail specified firing and drop safety tests, and guns that do not have a specified safety device such as a chamber load indicator. When the new California microstamping requirement is fully implemented by the Department of Justice, guns that do not meet this standard will be ineligible for sale and included on the roster.

AB 2460 would close the loophole in California law in order to keep unsafe guns out of the hands of those who are not eligible to buy them and protect the integrity of California law when additional public safety and enforcement requirements are added to the guns that are allowed to be sold in our state.

In the U.S., 32 men, women, and children are murdered every day with guns. In California, over 7,700 people are shot every year. U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other populous high-income countries combined. Among 23 populous, high-income countries, 80% of all firearm deaths occurred in the United States. Firearm homicide is the second-leading cause of death (after motor vehicle crashes) for young people ages 1-19 in the U.S.

The bill is supported by the California Chapters of the Brady Campaign, the California Police Chiefs Association, and the Legal Community Against Violence.

Bill is outcome of the Assembly Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development

Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 2242 by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved by the Senate Education Committee on a vote of 6-2. AB 2242 would remove the reference to “willful defiance” as a reason a student may be subject to extended suspensions and expulsions from school. The bill will next be heard on the Senate floor.

“AB 2242 would reduce the number of expulsions and out-of-school suspensions and the accompanying poor outcomes for students. It would also reduce the extent to which these practices disproportionately impact students of color,” said Dickinson, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development. “This will result in more appropriate types of intervention with less academic student disruption, and better student outcomes.”

Existing law provides that students can be suspended or recommended for expulsion from a school district for “willful defiance,” defined as “disrupting school activities or otherwise willfully defying the valid authority of school staff.”  According to the California Department of Education (CDE), it is estimated that “willful defiance” was identified as the grounds for 42% of all suspensions in 2010-11, that equals 2,200 students per school day – the highest rate in the nation. Under this highly subjective category, students are sent home and denied valuable instruction time for anything from failing to turn in homework, not paying attention, or refusing to follow directions, take off a coat or hat, or swearing in class.  They can also be potentially expelled from the district for such offenses.

AB 2242 would remove the reference to “willful defiance” as a reason a student may be moved from school for an extended period of time (more than 5 days) or expelled. In its place, AB 2242 defines more specific types of behavior that would warrant out-of-school suspensions and expulsions, including harassment, threats, and intimidation.

Research reveals that students of color are disproportionately suspended and expelled for low level, subjective offenses like willful defiance, and this leads these students to have disproportionately worse educational outcomes than other student groups. In a report released in March 2012, the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights found that African Americans were more than 3½ times as likely to be suspended or expelled as white students. Twenty percent of black males were suspended from school during the 2009-10 school year. By comparison, 7 percent of white males, 9 percent of Hispanic males and 3 percent of Asian American males were removed from school for disciplinary offenses.

More than two decades of research has confirmed that out-of-school suspensions do not improve student behavior and, in fact, often exacerbate the problem. In addition, students who are subjected to out-of-school discipline not only lose important instructional time, they are far more likely to drop out of school and enter the juvenile delinquency system, at great cost to the state, than students whose problem behaviors are addressed proactively with research-based supports and interventions in school and with parents.

Sacramento – Today, Assembly Bill 1831 by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was held in the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. The bill would have prohibited requesting criminal background information on the initial employment application for local employees, with the goal of reducing unnecessary barriers to employment for the one in four adult Californians who have an arrest or conviction record struggling to find work. If passed, California would have joined five states and over 30 cities and counties across the United States that have adopted similar legislation.

"I am extremely disappointed that the Governance and Finance Committee failed to consider the groundbreaking impacts of this legislation. By simply delaying the criminal background check inquiry, applicants could be given the opportunity to demonstrate their job qualifications without the stigma of a past record," said Assemblymember Dickinson. "Instead, California local governments will be able to continue to unreasonably deny employment at the outset based on past criminal convictions."

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Sacramento - Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson's (D-Sacramento) Assembly Bill 1643 was signed into law by the Governor. The bill addresses a public safety need in Sacramento County by allowing increased security of critical facilities such as airports, oil refineries, and nuclear and conventional fuel power plants by expanding duties to some security officers. The bill had bipartisan support throughout the legislative process.

"In Sacramento County there are several properties important to national security, or which, if compromised or attacked, pose a severe threat to public safety," said Assemblymember Dickinson. "AB 1643 will protect the public by keeping these facilities secure and preventing a potential catastrophe."

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Sacramento – Today, Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) released the following statement on the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the federal health care reform law:

"I applaud the Supreme Court for ruling to uphold the constitutionality of the groundbreaking Affordable Care Act. I wholeheartedly believe that all Americans deserve access to high-quality health care coverage, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Especially in times of high unemployment and budget cuts, affordable healthcare could not be more critical."

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Sacramento - Assembly Bill 1917 by Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) was approved today by the Senate Education Committee on a 6-1 vote. The bill would ensure that public education facility administrators are informed of and remitted any discounts, rebates, allowances, and incentives received by a service contractor from its supplier. The bill will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

"With this bill, we will ensure that overburdened school officials who negotiate food service contracts are aware of off-invoice rebates and what they are worth, and will make sure that our already cash-strapped California schools get their fair share of those rebates," said Assemblymember Dickinson. "AB 1917 will bring some long-overdue transparency and accountability to this opaque process," he added.

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